Local cupcake business goes global

‘Bath fizzies' look good enough to eat

Just as the economy started to sputter, three Hendersonville entrepreneurs launched a new business from a kitchen table. Candy Cakes Bath Bakery is now shipping its unique “bath fizzies” worldwide, and sales are up “about 1,000 percent” this year.

MIKE DIRKS/ T-N

By NANCY TANKERTimes-News Correspondent

Published: Friday, November 23, 2012 at 9:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, November 23, 2012 at 9:30 a.m.

Just as the economy started to sputter, three Hendersonville entrepreneurs launched a new business from a kitchen table. Candy Cakes Bath Bakery is now shipping its unique “bath fizzies” worldwide, and sales are up “about 1,000 percent” this year.

“We just wanted to make baths more fun,” said Ali Pearson, thinking back to five years ago when she, along with her daughter, Candace, and best friend, Jacey Kross, sat at Pearson's kitchen table, learning how to ice cupcakes.

Not just any cupcakes, however. These were miniature “bath fizzie” cupcakes that women — or men, for that matter — can drop into a warm bath to add a soothing scent and skin-friendly ingredients such as Epsom salts, dead sea salts, rosemary and lavender.

Candace, formerly a pastry chef, taught her mother how to ice the new cupcake-shaped bath fizzies, while Kross pondered how to market the product to retailers nationwide.

Soon the three settled into their respective roles. As company owner, Pearson was in charge of design, expanding the line to include bath fizzies shaped like slices of cake, ice cream cones and “Pedi-fours,” for that per­ fect foot soak. Candace helped train new employees on how to decorate Pearson's latest designs. Kross focused on marketing and wholesale sales.

Pearson and Kross have been best friends for so many years that they often complete each others' thoughts. “She's my right hand,” Pearson said of Kross, while Kross quickly added: “We get on great. We can say what we think to each other and nobody takes offense.”

As the company's sole marketing rep, Kross steadily built a list of wholesale clients one at a time. She was thrilled when Candy Cakes landed an upscale gift shop in Asheville's Biltmore Village, Porter & Prince, a few years ago. The store manager at Porter & Prince was a cousin of a buyer at the Biltmore Estate, a buyer who “fell in love with the product instantly and said, ‘Come up to the office,' ” Kross recalled.

Pearson added, “She wasn't even supposed to order any more (product) by that time of year. They had a cut-off for orders of, I think, March. She said she'd make an exception for our product. We're now in three shops there, and the hotel. That was the big door-opening, because so many people from around the world go to the Biltmore.”

“We were found at Biltmore by a lot of different people,” Kross said. “Business just took off.”

“And that put us in a position where we could start doing trade shows,” Pearson explained. “We don't do a lot of advertising, other than putting ourselves at a lot of trade shows.”

One recent show in particular gave Candy Cakes a lot of exposure — and overseas orders. Top Drawer London, a trade show billed as “the UK's leading event for design-led gifts, lifestyle and fashion accessories,” brought in orders from multiple countries, including some in the Middle East.

Earlier in the company's history, the “bath fizzies” were called “bath bombs,” but shipping to the Middle East using the word “bomb” was patently problematic, so the “fizzie” switch was made.

The show was a watershed moment for Candy Cakes.

“We're being found all over the world now,” Pearson said.

Kross ticked off a list of countries they're now shipping to: “Lebanon, Bahrain, Egypt, Germany, Italy, the UK, and we're working on getting into Australia and Japan.”

The pace has them hopping.

“Today we're in lockdown,” Pearson said with a smile.

“It's been crazy,” Kross added. “Right now we're working on an order of 4,000 or 5,000 (fizzies) a day, just for one order.” The total order is for a quarter million fizzies for a Canadian pharmacy chain with 1,200 stores.

“We're working on a special order for the UK market, too,” Pearson said. “It's a special gift set that we're designing for them. We're doing a little mermaid — a box of two.”

“Our standards are very high,” she explained. “Our cupcake liners are the best quality — they're made in Switzerland.”

The packaging has to look just-so. And in terms of the product itself, “The color has to be just right and the ribbon has to be cut a certain way. We want everything to look good.”

Each season, Pearson creates new designs to keep the line evolving and her customers ordering.

“We have original designs that are in-house that we do all the time, all year long, then we have special editions that come out every three months,” she said. “This fall we have our Pumpkin Spice — a slice of pumpkin cake, and we came out with the Cowgirl this fall.”

The Cowgirl is an aloe and white lily cupcake, also available as a shower scrub.

“They like the Cowgirl in Texas,” Kross said.

“I didn't plan that,” Pearson added. “I just thought the Cowgirl would be really nice for the fall. I didn't want to do leaves or acorns or squirrels. Sometimes you want to design something a little different.

“For Christmas we have Dashing Through the Show, with our little Rudolph with his red nose sitting on top of the cupcake. And we have Santa Baby, which is one of our best sellers. It's a peppermint patty and it smells wonderful. The Holly ‘Pedifours' have been astounding. We're selling them left and right. We also have the Vintage Tree and Fairy Lights and Christmas cake — it's red velvet.”

Kross, who now oversees 35 company reps as marketing director, added that even when fulfilling a quarter-million-unit order, “the products need to look consistent” to convey quality and garner those muchneeded repeat sales. That dedication to detail seems to be working.

Whereas before orders were shipping by the case, today Candy Cakes is shipping by the pallet.

“I'd say our sales are up about 1,000 percent so far this year,” Kross said, adding that the vast majority of the company's sales are still wholesale, even though the team opened a new retail storefront last summer on Fourth Avenue West in downtown Hendersonville.

Still, the women maintain a one-on-one relationship with each customer, Pearson said proudly.

“We like to develop a rapport, a relationship, with our customers. Even though I have not met 99 percent of our customers, I like talking to them on the phone, I like emailing them,” she said. “We like to build on that — that our customers can speak to someone directly if they have a question or a problem or whatever.”

Kross added, “We like it when they ask our advice on what to sell. They'll ask, ‘What do you think I should buy for this season? You know my store, my location. What will sell?' Because what works for a shop in Florida might not work somewhere else.”

Pearson lit up at the idea of customers asking for guidance.

“What I really love is when they say, ‘Just put together whatever you think would be best for our store.' And I'll go, ‘Yes! I will!' Then I get to design,” she said.

<p>Just as the economy started to sputter, three Hendersonville entrepreneurs launched a new business from a kitchen table. Candy Cakes Bath Bakery is now shipping its unique “bath fizzies” worldwide, and sales are up “about 1,000 percent” this year.</p><p>“We just wanted to make baths more fun,” said Ali Pearson, thinking back to five years ago when she, along with her daughter, Candace, and best friend, Jacey Kross, sat at Pearson's kitchen table, learning how to ice cupcakes.</p><p>Not just any cupcakes, however. These were miniature “bath fizzie” cupcakes that women — or men, for that matter — can drop into a warm bath to add a soothing scent and skin-friendly ingredients such as Epsom salts, dead sea salts, rosemary and lavender.</p><p>Candace, formerly a pastry chef, taught her mother how to ice the new cupcake-shaped bath fizzies, while Kross pondered how to market the product to retailers nationwide.</p><p>Soon the three settled into their respective roles. As company owner, Pearson was in charge of design, expanding the line to include bath fizzies shaped like slices of cake, ice cream cones and “Pedi-fours,” for that per­ fect foot soak. Candace helped train new employees on how to decorate Pearson's latest designs. Kross focused on marketing and wholesale sales. </p><p>Pearson and Kross have been best friends for so many years that they often complete each others' thoughts. “She's my right hand,” Pearson said of Kross, while Kross quickly added: “We get on great. We can say what we think to each other and nobody takes offense.” </p><p>As the company's sole marketing rep, Kross steadily built a list of wholesale clients one at a time. She was thrilled when Candy Cakes landed an upscale gift shop in Asheville's Biltmore Village, Porter & Prince, a few years ago. The store manager at Porter & Prince was a cousin of a buyer at the Biltmore Estate, a buyer who “fell in love with the product instantly and said, 'Come up to the office,' ” Kross recalled. </p><p>Pearson added, “She wasn't even supposed to order any more (product) by that time of year. They had a cut-off for orders of, I think, March. She said she'd make an exception for our product. We're now in three shops there, and the hotel. That was the big door-opening, because so many people from around the world go to the Biltmore.” </p><p>“We were found at Biltmore by a lot of different people,” Kross said. “Business just took off.” </p><p>“And that put us in a position where we could start doing trade shows,” Pearson explained. “We don't do a lot of advertising, other than putting ourselves at a lot of trade shows.” </p><p>One recent show in particular gave Candy Cakes a lot of exposure — and overseas orders. Top Drawer London, a trade show billed as “the UK's leading event for design-led gifts, lifestyle and fashion accessories,” brought in orders from multiple countries, including some in the Middle East. </p><p>Earlier in the company's history, the “bath fizzies” were called “bath bombs,” but shipping to the Middle East using the word “bomb” was patently problematic, so the “fizzie” switch was made. </p><p>The show was a watershed moment for Candy Cakes. </p><p>“We're being found all over the world now,” Pearson said. </p><p>Kross ticked off a list of countries they're now shipping to: “Lebanon, Bahrain, Egypt, Germany, Italy, the UK, and we're working on getting into Australia and Japan.” </p><p>The pace has them hopping. </p><p>“Today we're in lockdown,” Pearson said with a smile. </p><p>“It's been crazy,” Kross added. “Right now we're working on an order of 4,000 or 5,000 (fizzies) a day, just for one order.” The total order is for a quarter million fizzies for a Canadian pharmacy chain with 1,200 stores. </p><p>“We're working on a special order for the UK market, too,” Pearson said. “It's a special gift set that we're designing for them. We're doing a little mermaid — a box of two.” </p><p>Amid controlled chaos, Pearson still has an eye toward creating perfectly detailed designs. </p><p>“Our standards are very high,” she explained. “Our cupcake liners are the best quality — they're made in Switzerland.” </p><p>The packaging has to look just-so. And in terms of the product itself, “The color has to be just right and the ribbon has to be cut a certain way. We want everything to look good.” </p><p>Each season, Pearson creates new designs to keep the line evolving and her customers ordering. </p><p>“We have original designs that are in-house that we do all the time, all year long, then we have special editions that come out every three months,” she said. “This fall we have our Pumpkin Spice — a slice of pumpkin cake, and we came out with the Cowgirl this fall.” </p><p>The Cowgirl is an aloe and white lily cupcake, also available as a shower scrub. </p><p>“They like the Cowgirl in Texas,” Kross said. </p><p>“I didn't plan that,” Pearson added. “I just thought the Cowgirl would be really nice for the fall. I didn't want to do leaves or acorns or squirrels. Sometimes you want to design something a little different. </p><p>“For Christmas we have Dashing Through the Show, with our little Rudolph with his red nose sitting on top of the cupcake. And we have Santa Baby, which is one of our best sellers. It's a peppermint patty and it smells wonderful. The Holly 'Pedifours' have been astounding. We're selling them left and right. We also have the Vintage Tree and Fairy Lights and Christmas cake — it's red velvet.” </p><p>Kross, who now oversees 35 company reps as marketing director, added that even when fulfilling a quarter-million-unit order, “the products need to look consistent” to convey quality and garner those muchneeded repeat sales. That dedication to detail seems to be working. </p><p>Whereas before orders were shipping by the case, today Candy Cakes is shipping by the pallet. </p><p>“I'd say our sales are up about 1,000 percent so far this year,” Kross said, adding that the vast majority of the company's sales are still wholesale, even though the team opened a new retail storefront last summer on Fourth Avenue West in downtown Hendersonville. </p><p>Still, the women maintain a one-on-one relationship with each customer, Pearson said proudly. </p><p>“We like to develop a rapport, a relationship, with our customers. Even though I have not met 99 percent of our customers, I like talking to them on the phone, I like emailing them,” she said. “We like to build on that — that our customers can speak to someone directly if they have a question or a problem or whatever.” </p><p>Kross added, “We like it when they ask our advice on what to sell. They'll ask, 'What do you think I should buy for this season? You know my store, my location. What will sell?' Because what works for a shop in Florida might not work somewhere else.” </p><p>Pearson lit up at the idea of customers asking for guidance. </p><p>“What I really love is when they say, 'Just put together whatever you think would be best for our store.' And I'll go, 'Yes! I will!' Then I get to design,” she said. </p><p>“That's when she really sparkles,” Kross said with a smile.</p>